Kirk looked toward Benson.
“Did you smell it?”
Mercer interrupted.
“Benson wasn’t at the driver window.”
Benson said:
“I checked the vehicle.”
Kirk looked at him.
“And?”
“No odor.”
Mercer’s face turned red.
Kirk looked at Terrence.
“Sir, do you consent to a canine sniff?”
Terrence stared at him.
“No.”
Kirk nodded.
“Understood.”
He turned toward Mercer.
“Stop the search.”
Mercer’s face changed.
“What?”
“Stop.”
“We’re in the middle—”
“You found nothing.”
“No odor confirmation.”
“No dog.”
“No clear offense.”
“Stop.”
Mercer looked at the federal agents.
Then at Terrence.
“This is because he’s FBI.”
Kirk’s jaw tightened.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You're scared of them.”
Kirk stepped closer.
“I’m scared of what your body camera already shows.”
That ended it.
Mercer stepped back.
Kirk ordered the patrol car camera, body cameras, radio logs, and dispatch audio preserved immediately.
Then looked at Terrence.
“I’m sorry.”
Terrence glanced at the scattered belongings.
“Save apologies for after you know what happened.”
Kirk nodded.
Fair.
Terrence began picking up his property.
Reyes stopped him.
“Leave it.”
He looked at her.
“Why?”
“Document first.”
She was right.
Photos.
Damage.
Placement.
Cake.
Letters.
Clothing.
Search sequence.
Evidence.
The irony was bitter.
Mercer had turned Terrence’s belongings into evidence against himself.
Agents photographed everything.
Benson stood apart.
Quiet.
Ashamed.
Then the first unexpected message reached Reyes.
She looked at her phone.
Read.
Then looked at Terrence.
“What?”
She walked closer.
“You’re going to hate this.”
“What?”
“The highway unit.”
“What about it?”
Reyes showed him the screen.
An FBI analyst had run Mercer’s name.
Terrence read.
Then looked up.
His expression changed.
Reyes said quietly:
“He’s already in one of our files.”
Mercer was not a random aggressive officer.
Not entirely.
His name appeared in an active federal investigation.
The investigation involved roadside asset seizures.
Cash.
Cars.
Property.
And missing evidence.
Terrence stared toward Mercer.
The Officer did not know they were looking at him.
Not yet.
Reyes said:
“We need to separate this incident from the existing case.”
Terrence nodded immediately.
“Yes.”
“You’re now a complainant.”
“Recuse me.”
“Already thinking it.”
“Do it.”
Reyes nodded.
From that moment, Terrence no longer had operational access to anything involving Mercer.
That frustrated him.
It was correct.